An interesting session as what was once a broad based rally turned into a mixed picture by the close. The Dow gained 243 points on light volume. It was up well over 400 at one point. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. After being higher the NASDAQ finished with a loss on the day. The S&P 500 finished flat after being much higher earlier on. It still remains overbought on the short term indicators. Waiting on tomorrows inflation data. It is also the end of the month before a long holiday weekend. My guess is whatever is going to happen will be early in the day and then traders will be leaving early. Gold rose $17 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates nudged up. The XAU was up 1 3/4 and GDX was up 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators on GDX are trying to turn back up. I'll keep an eye on golds reaction to the inflation numbers tomorrow. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Not sure what to expect next here. Just waiting on the month of August to come to a close and we'll be looking for a trade in September. Europe was higher and Asia mixed in last nights trade. We'll close out the week and the month tomorrow.

Selling in the middle of the week as the Dow fell 159 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still trending higher. Once again the NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. Waiting on NVDA earnings after the close. The S&P 500 remains in the same technical condition. Short term overbought and staying that way. Seems like we are just waiting for this week to go by and then all the players should be back. No SPY trades for now. Gold dropped ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates remained flat. The XAU fell 3 3/4, while GDX shed around 7/8. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX have now rolled over. We'll see if thay keep going. Waiting for GDX to return to short term oversold before trying the calls here again. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits a down market. Back above the 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here have turned back up but remain oversold. Just a couple of trading days left in the month of August. Unless something out of the ordinary happens I'll be on the sidelines until after Labor day. Plenty of time left to trade in the September option cycle. Sometimes you have to be patient. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Today we opened lower and closed higher but the Dow only managed a gain of 10 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving up. It appears that we are in a wait and see mode for now. The volume is very low as we wait for a catalyst to get things moving up or down. It's the last week of August before Labor day weekend and trders have taken off. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and staying that way. I'm still in the camp for new all time highs soon. Perhaps the inflation data or NVDA earnings can get us there later in the week. Gold rose $5 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates held steady. The XAU had a slight fractional loss, while GDX was unchanged. They both came up from the lows of the session. Volume was very light once again. It appears that the summer doldrums arrived late this year. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term oversold. Back below the 50 day moving average now. I'm still not sure what's next for the VIX. Remaining patient for now when it comes to the next trade. A new all time high close for the Dow today but the NASDAQ is lagging. I'm expecting the S&P 500 to move to new highs as well soon but this isn't a broad upside breakout for now. Plus we are in a negative seasonal period for stocks so I would not want to get too bullish at the moment. The anemic volume is another thing to keep an eye on. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Another open higher and closing lower day for the S&P 500 but the Dow managed a gain of 65 points on pretty light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index continues higher. Most of the indices were lower today, with the NASDAQ losing over 150. It is the final week in August before the unofficial end of summer after Labor day next Monday. It's possible that some traders will be away from their desks. Some economic data due this week with inflation news on Friday. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought while we wait and see if new all time highs are coming. Our guess is that yes, we'll see new highs for the S&P sooner rather than later. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX were barely lower on extremely light volume. We had some geo-political tension over the weekend and the gold shares did not react. Still short term overbought on GDX and waiting on a pullback to try the calls there again. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly and is hugging its 50 day moving average. Short term oversodl and remaining that way. Not sure what's next for the VIX. Might be on hold for the next trade until the jobs report in a week and a half but we'll see. Asia was higher except for Japan while Europe ended mixed. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The Fed chairman said that it is time to lower interest rates and that is all the market needed to hear as the Dow gained 462 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 8 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way and the small cap Russell 2000 was up over 3%. The S&P 500 was higher and remains short term overbought. At this rate new all time highs for the S&P are probably in the cards for next week. The NYSE Composite is already there. Gold was up $30 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU gained a couple of points and GDX added 1/2. Volume was light. Still waiting for a GDX pullback but it may not appear when we want it. Markets rarely cooperate. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower today and is right at the 50 day moving average. Remaining short term oversold here and it looks like that could last a while. So it looks like all systems are go for higher prices going forward. When there is plenty of money to drive even the smaller issues higher, liquidity is not a problem. The promise of lower interest rates creates a positive backdrop. The best time to jump on board has passed and I will wait for the next signal or some kind of set up. I'll read the charts over the weekend as usual. Europe and Asia were higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Sellers finally showed up today as the Dow dropped 177 points on light volume. It was another one day downside reversal as we opened higher and closed lower. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way down and that's a negative. Despite the drop the S&P 500 remains short term overbought. We'll wait and see what the Fed chairman has to say tomorrow and how the market deals with that. Gold lost about thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 2/3, while GDX lost a point. Volume was average. The short term indicators on GDX have rolled over but thay are still overbought. I'm still in a wait and see mode here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher which fits the down move in stocks. Back above the 50 day moving average on the VIX. It is still very short term oversold though. Not sure what comes next here. Remaining patient for now when it comes to the next trade. I'll see how the week closes out and take it from there. Asia and Europe were generally higher overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Some back and forth today but mainly just hanging around as the Dow was up 55 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 higher. The summation index conitnues to the upside. The NASDAQ continues to lead and that's a plus. The techncial condition of the S&P 500 remains the same. Short term overbought and staying that way. There is a V bottom in place as we approach the previous all time highs. Either a huge double top is forming or we will simply plow on higher past the near term resistance. At this point it looks like moving higher will be the most likely. Gold finished flat on the day. The US dollar continues to fall and interest rates were slightly lower. The XAU was up almost a point and GDX rose 1/4. Volume was light. GDX remains short term overbought as well. Waiting on a pullback here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which doesn't fit with todays market direction. The last time this happened we had a drop the following day. Still short term oversold and staying that way on the VIX. Looking for a trade but we will not force the issue. Waiting on some type of set up for now. Plenty of time in the September option cycle. Might even wait until all the players are back after Labor day if necessary. Patience for now. Asia was mixed once again and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

A one day reversal to the downside today as the market opened higher and closed lower. The Dow fell 61 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving up. Not much damage done today as the major indices were just off fractionally. Not a lot of data due this week as we wait for the Fed chairman to speak at the Jackson Hole conference on Friday. That speech could get things moving. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. We are in a wait and see mode when it comes to the next SPY option trade. Leaning towards the puts but on the sidelines for now. Gold was up a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was higher by 1 1/4 and GDX added 1/4. Volume remains average here. Short term overbought on the gold shares as well. Waiting for a pullback before attempting the September calls here. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today as we saw some selling in the market. Still short term oversold here. Not sure what to expect next on the VIX. It closed at its 50 day moving average. Remaining patient here in the short term as perhaps this will be a quiet week for a change. At least until Friday. Asia was mixed again with Europe lower overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Nothing but buyers as the market just keeps going up in a straight line. The Dow gained 236 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The NASDAQ led the way again to the upside and that's a plus. The S&P 500 is short term overbought. The sell signal that we got last week did not work. However the longer things go straight up, the more likely that they will not have a happy ending. It was quick V bottom in stocks and we'll have to see if we bust out to new all time highs soon. Gold was up a few bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were slightly lower. The gold shares followed the overall market today. The XAU rose 3 1/8, while GDX gained 3/4. Volume was average. GDX is now short term overbought as well. We'll wait for some kind of pullback before trying the calls there. Plenty of time in the September option cycle but there is also the fact that I might have missed this move for GDX as well. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX is still heading lower and remains short term oversold. It can stay oversold for an extended time during rallies and that is what we are seeing now. I'll be patient for now. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It was pretty much a sideways expiration Friday as the Dow was up 96 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving higher. The S&P 500 is getting to short term overbought. Obviously we are extended to the upside here for the S&P and some kind of retreat is overdue. I would be surprised if we didn't see some selling on Monday. It has been a straight line up for stocks for a couple of weeks. These kind of moves usually don't end well. However the volatility and declines that we saw seem to have been a bit overdone. Moving into the September option cycle which has an extra week on it. Premiums are high and there is no rush right now for a trade in the SPY. Gold took off to the upside for a new record as the futures climbed $54. The US dollar was lower and interest rates had a small dip. The XAU gained 3 3/4, while GDX was up 1 1/8. Volume was good to the upside. The short term indicators for GDX are moving back up and are not yet overbought. It appears that I'm late on the September GDX calls but we'll see what happens as we move forward. This could be a move worth chasing. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX is still moving lower and remains short term oversold. It was a great week for stocks and at this rate new all time highs are not out of the question. But we are in a seasonally weak period for stocks so nothing can be ruled out for now either way. I'll be checking the charts as usual over the weekend. Europe and Asia were higher to finish the trading week with the exception of the FTSE. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The data came out and the market liked what it saw as the Dow climbed 554 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is now moving higher. The NASDAQ led the way and was up over 400 points. The S&P 500 is now solidly above the short term down trend line and it is no longer in effect. The short term indicators here are moving up with still some room to go. I suppose I got lucky yesterday when my order for the SPY August puts wasn't filled. The sell signal from one of our indicators is still in effect but it obviously did not work today. It is a reminder that we deal in probabilities and not certainties in this game. The technical evidence weighed in the direction of some kind of pause or sell off but the market just kept going up. I can't say that I have a good handle on things as I ceratinly did not expect the market to move in a straight line up from nine trading days ago. But as always markets move where they want. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU rose 1 1/3, while GDX added over 1/8. Volume was light. The gold shares didn't really follow the overall market much higher today. The short term indicators continue to stall here on GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues lower and is now below its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators are very oversold for the VIX but that stay that way during rallies. The markets practically straight line up since August 5th certainly qualifies as a rally. However I would be very surprised if we didn't see some kind of selling either tomorrow or Monday. If we don't the overbought condition for the S&P 500 would be extreme. I'm going to let expiration Friday pass and take things from there. Europe and Asia were up overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

The Dow led the way today as it gained 242 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is tracking sideways. The inflation data came in where expected. The NASDAQ was the laggard today as it was only up 5 points. The S&P 500 continued higher closing just above the 5450 level. The short term indicators here are trending higher with room to go. I did place an order for the S&P August puts but it wasn't filled. We are getting a sell signal on one of our indicators for the S&P but there are only two days left in the August option cycle. I'm not sure if I will try the puts here again tomorrow but this is the spot to give them a try. Gold was off $20 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. They both came up from their lows of the session. The short term indicators for GDX are beginning to stall but are not yet overbought. I'll begin to look at the GDX September calls here. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX contiues to drop and is just about at its 50 day moving average. Comfortably below the 20 level now. The short term indicators are oversold for the most part. Not sure what is going to happen next here on the VIX. Plenty of economic data out tomorrow with retail sales probably being the key. If we open higher I might take the chance on the August SPY puts. If we open lower it most likely will already be too late. I maybe should have adjusted my order at the end of the day to get filled but I did not. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Europe and Asia were generally higher overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Produces prices came in about where expected and that was enough for the market as the Dow climbed 408 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is back to moving sideways. The overall market did much better thant the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way. It was up almost 2 1/2%. The S&P 500 gained ninety points and is now almost at the 5450 level. The short term indicators on the S&P are now at mid-range or better and moving up with plenty of room to go. I may have to rethink the SPY August put idea at this rate. A decent CPI report tomorrow morning could blow us threw the short term resistance. Or the opposite could happen on a negative report in which case it would be too late for the SPY puts. 454 is the level on the SPY where the short term down trend lies and it is also close to the 50 day moving average. I'll have to decide what to do tomorrow morning. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 2 1/4, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume was light as the gold shares followed the market higher. GDX closed above the short term down trend line today but the volume was pretty light. We have to respect price though for now. I sold my GDX August calls in the morning and should have held them longer. This was a trade with a lousy entry price and the exit could and should have been a lot better as well. I did however want to sell them today as we are running out of time in the August option cycle. A strong CPI report tomorrow would probably send the gold shares lower. The gain on this trade was 75%. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits with the good day for stocks. Short term oversold here on the indicators with just a little room to go before being completely oversold. This indicator is another reason that I am hesitating on buying the SPY puts with only 3 days to go in the August option cycle. It too could simply become more oversold as the market heads higher. I will have to look all the things over again tonight and decide what to do. Not to mention that the short term trades are not usually my best efforts. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of India. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Waiting on inflation data as the Dow fell 140 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to roll back over. We got a signal from the McClellan oscillator on Friday for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that happens tomorrow. The NASDAQ had a minor gain today and the S&P 500 finished flat. The short term indicators on the S&P are beginning to stall. Producer prices out tomorrow should provide excuses to buy or sell. Still looking at the 5450 level as the spot to try the SPY August puts but we may not get there this week. Also running out of time for the August option cycle. Gold rallied today as the futures were up $37 on geo-political fears. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were a bit lower. The XAU climbed 4 2/3, while GDX was up around a point. Volume was average. GDX is getting closer to the short term down trend line at 37.25. A break of that line on good volume would be bullish for the gold shares. My GDX August calls have somehow made it back into the black. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up and have room to go. Perhaps this trade will work out after all. However with only 4 days left in the August option cycle the risk of staying in the trade inceases as the week goes on. I'm thinking the the PPI data tomorrow won't be an upside surprise and perhaps there will some positive follow through for the gold shares. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly today as it hangs around the 20 level. Some of the short term indicators here are oversold. Not sure what's next here for the VIX. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what the market reaction is to the inflation data tomorrow morning and go from there. Asia and Europe were mixed to begin the week. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

It seemed much like a day of hanging around as the Dow rose 51 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is now tracking sideways. Considering the recent price action, todays lack of volatility was somewhat of a surprise to me. None of the major averages finished with big moves. The S&P 500 continues to climb up from the lows on Monday. The short term indicators here are approaching mid-range. What they do there will tell the story. If they keep moving up is looks like a V bottom will be in place. If they roll back over a retest of the lows may be in order. Plenty of economic data due out next week including inflation numbers. Not to mention that it's option expiration week. So things will get interesting. Gold was up $4 on the futures. The US dollar finished little changed as did most interest rates. The XAU was up 1 1/4 and GDX added a little over 1/4. Volume was extremely light as there is no interest one way or the other for the gold shares at the moment. My GDX August calls are somehow almost back to break even. I though long and hard about just selling them today and taking the loss. But I decided to let the weekend play out and we'll see how thngs open up on Monday. No signal one way or the other with the short term indicators for GDX right now. Unless we see gold rally next week this trade isn't going anywhere. Plus with it still being out of the money the odds for a profit are lower. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued to fall and is now back to the 20 level. What happens here will say a lot about the market as well. If the VIX bounces off of 20 we'll see more selling and move volatility. If the VIX continues to fall through the 20 level, the V bottom scenario has more credibility. Some of the short term indicators on the VIX are oversold but not completely so. Quite a week it was but the market didn't fall apart as it looked like it was going to on Monday. There is a down trend line that coincides with the 50 day moving average for the S&P at the 5450 level. If we somehow make it back to there next week, that would be the time to try the SPY August puts for a short term trade. But we'll go over the charts this weekend just to be sure. Asia and Europe were higher to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another bounce today as the Dow gained 683 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is still heading lower. The NASDAQ led the way today and that's a positive but the volume was less than it has been recently. The S&P 500 was up 120 points and the short term indicators here have turned back up. I'm not thinking that the market is just going to continue to rally here but who knows? Yesterdays price action was pretty negative and todays is very positive. Probably some short covering in there today. I'm not sure where it goes from here. On the sidelines with regards to the SPY options for now. Gold soared out of nowhere as the futures gained thirty bucks. It did come off of the highs for the session. The US dollar finished about unchanged and interest rates ticked up. The XAU rose 3 points, while GDX was up almost 7/8. Volume was light here as there still isn't much interest in the gold shares at the moment. My GDX August calls are still in the red but did make up some ground. Perhaps should have just taken the loss today but hope springs eternal. Another day like today would bring tham back but that's asking an awful lot of this market. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits the good day for stocks. The short term indicators are moving back down and are not yet completely oversold. So perhaps we can squeeze another positive day out of the market. I do not expect the volatility to just disappear though. Asia and Europe were generally lower to mixed in last nights trade. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

A one day reversal to the downside as stocks gapped open higher and closed lower near the lows for the day. The Dow fell 234 points on good volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving down. The NASDAQ led the way lower. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold and it looks like we are heading down for a retest of the recent lows after todays price action. I'm not sure what exactly is going on right now but volatility is in charge. I have no SPY trades in mind right now because the technicals are blown out as we are not in the normal market atmosphere. I could change my mind going forward but the risks here might outweigh the rewards. You've got to be quick and you've got to be nimble and those are not my strong suits. Gold dropped $4 on the futures. The US dollar was a little higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 4 1/4, while GDX shed 7/8. Volume was light. The gold shares are following the overall market. My GDX August calls are now solid losers as I had my chances to get out with a small profit but did not take them. The gold shares had a one day downside reversal as well. The daily candlestick chart for GDX looks very bearish after todays price action. This trade is now in the cut the loss mode unless GDX has some kind of rally in the next two days. Not likely but who knows in the current volatile marketplace. Mentally I'm feeling a bit down after mismanaging yet another trade. But the market certainly doesn't care and you've just got to keep moving in this game. The VIX moved back up after being lower early on. The short term indicators have stalled and if they turn back up here we'll see more downside in a hurry. Hasn't happened yet though. Seven days to go in the August option cycle. Europe and Asia were both up overnight. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

We had a nice bounce going today but the market stumbled in the final hour as the Dow gained 294 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is still moving down. Stocks finished well off of their highs for the session and that is not a plus. Still short term oversold on the S&P. I can't say that I know what's next here. A retest of the lows? A continued move higher? Not much economic data out this week and most of the major earnings have already been reported. Technical damage has been done though so a period of sideways price action or indecision would not be out of the question. Gold dropped $16 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly higher and interest rates were up as well. The XAU was up 1 3/4, while GDX added around 1/4. Volume was light. The gold shares followed the overall market today. More oversold than overbought for GDX but not completely so. My GDX August calls are still showing a very small profit. This is probably a trade that needs to be sold sooner rather than later. But we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today but came up from the lows with the last hour sell off in stocks. The short term indicators here are now pointing down with plenty of room to go. That implies more near term gains for stocks but in this current environment anything goes. Certainly no summer doldrums is about all that can be promised at this point. Asia was mostly higher and Europe finished flat in last nights trade. Japan came back 10% after losing a bit more than that on Monday. We'll see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Sellers took center stage as we had a huge gap down on the open, saw an anemic bounce and went sideways for the rest of the day. The Dow got crushed as did all the major stock indices as it fell over a thousand points on heavy volume. The advance/declines were 13 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. The NASDAQ continues to lead the way lower as big tech stocks have fallen out of favor. The S&P 500 lost almost 3%. Still short term oversold on the indicators here. Gapping lower on the daily chart and it looks like it's headed to the 200 day moving average at 5000. I'm not sure what is going on here but the markets always know more than we do. Sell the rallies will probably be the case for a while now. Hard to say when we'll see the bounce I was looking for and todays slight rise might have been it. Maybe today was a short term wash out for stocks. But if we do get a bounce I would not expect it to last. Gold was off twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar continued lower and interst rates finished flat after being lower early on. The gold shares followed the market lower but did finished up from the lows on the day. The XAU fell 5 1/8, while GDX lost 1 1/8. Volume was good to the downside. I adjusted my open order for the GDX August calls overnight and it did get filled first thing in the morning. It was a lousy entry as the gold shares dropped much more than I expected. GDX also broke the up trend line that began back in March on the daily chart. Then why try the calls here? On days like this I like to think that things get out of hand in some markets. It presents opportunity if you are able to keep your wits about you. The gold shares dropped much more than gold today and that doesn't add up in my book. Unless gold is simply headed straight down from here. Even with the poor entry the trade is showing a small profit. I'll see if I can manage it properly from here. GDX did finish below its 50 day moving average though. Mentally I'm feeling tired. The VIX soared to 65 this morning. Moves that high are very rare and point to one thing. Panic. It closed at 38 and now is comfortably above the 20 level so volatility will rule here for a while. Some of the short term indicators are overbought now on the VIX and some aren't. Not sure what that means or where the VIX is headed next. The only certain thing here is the uncertainty. But there is money to be made in this August option cycle, that's for sure. It was worldwide carnage for stock markets as buyers have fled the scene. Japan crashed and was down over 10% in a day. Interesting times and I'll be keeping an eye on things overnight.

The jobs report came in weaker than expected and stocks got whacked as the Dow fell 610 points on heavy volume. At one point it was down almost 1000. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. This will have the summation index heading back down. The damage could have been worse but the S&P 500 bounced up from the 5300 level. The S&P 500 remains short term oversold and I would not be surprised if we see a bounce early next week. However important up trend lines have been broken and the trend is now down. The indicators on the S&P weekly chart still have room to go lower. Plus the summation index has yet to really start to drop. Support comes in where we bounced today at 5300 and also at 5200 for the S&P. The 200 day moving average is at 5000. Worst case scenario is the longer term up trend line at 4600 but that level is pretty far off. We still think that rallies can be sold for now. It is also a seasonally weak time period for stocks the next couple of months. So there is no hurry to invest longer term money at the moment. I did miss out on the SPY puts this time around but that idea should work again here in the not too distant future. Gold ended up little changed on the session after being both higher and lower. The US dollar got clobbered on the employment news and interest rates continue to fall. The XAU lost almost 4 points and GDX shed 3/4. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is now at the up trend line that began in March. I did place an order for the GDX August calls and I'm leaving it out there over the weekend. I may decide to cancel it by Monday. The short term indicators for GDX are not yet completely oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX soared today but came off of its highest levels. It did close above the important level of 20 and at one point was at almost 30. Now that is some volatility. The VIX remains short term overbought and it is rare for it to stay that way for long. I expect the VIX to drop next week and that would fit with a bounce for stocks. But I could be wrong as the markets go where they want. Quite a week it was as there are no summer doldrums in 2024. Plenty to ponder over the weekend and I'll be checking the charts as usual. Foreign stocks got pounded to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.

Back down again today as volatility remains in control. The Dow fell 494 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. It could have been worse but there was a late comeback in the final hour. The NASDAQ led the way lower and that is not a plus. I did place an order overnight for the SPY August puts but it wasn't filled. I have since canceled it as we are already heading lower. The S&P 500 is still managing to close at its 50 day moving average. It remains short term oversold but not extremely so. A break of 5400 would imply that we are heading much lower. Tomorrows employment report should provide the key to which way Friday will go. It appears for now that rallies are being sold and the summation index hasn't even turned down yet. Markets always know more than we do. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU fell 2 7/8, while GDX lost 2/3. Volume was light. The gold shares did finish up from their lows on the session. I may place an order overnight for the GDX August calls again. The short term indicators for GDX are hanging around the mid-range area. So it could go either way. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that fits the downside day for stocks. The short term indicators here remain overbought. The VIX doesn't usually stay overbought and it is a warning sign that caution here is the best course of action or inaction. Asia was mixed and Europe down overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

It was off to the races from the start but some of the gains were later lost as the Dow rose 99 points on good volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trending higher. The overall market fared much better than the Dow with the NASDAQ leading the way and up over 2 1/2%. The S&P 500 also fell off from the highs of the session but did gain over 1 1/2%. No surprises from the Fed and that was all stocks needed to keep todays rally going. The short term down trend line on the S&P 500 has been broken to the upside. The indicators here are moving higher with plenty of room to go. I'm not saying that we are going back to new all time highs but who knows? The 50 day moving average held for now on the S&P. Gold was up over forty bucks on the futures to a new all time high and just shy of $2500. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 3 7/8, while GDX added a point. Volume was good here. The short term indicators for GDX are moving up with room to go. I canceled my open order for the GDX August calls as it looks like I've missed this move higher in GDX again. The question now is do we chase it? Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and remains short term overbought. I would have thought that it would move even lower today given the rally in the overall market. Not exactly sure what the story is here. Not sure how much of todays rally was short covering or end of the month gyrations. The daily candlestick for today on the Dow looks like a shooting star. Same for the Russell 2000. But we'll have to see where we go from here. Beginning of August tomorrow and the jobs report due on Friday. Europe and Asia finished higher as we saw buying around the globe overnight. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Some volatility today before the Fed but the Dow managed a gain of 203 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still moving up. It was a mixed market to be sure with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posting losses. The NASDAQ dropped 1 1/4%. The S&P 500 is trying to hold on to its 50 day moving average. It remains short term oversold. Tomorrows price action will probably tell us a lot about where we are going from here. The short term down trend line remains in effect for the S&P. Gold was up $26 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I did place an order overnight for the GDX August calls but it wasn't filled. I'm leaving it out there for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was back up today which does fit with the overall market. Remaining short term overbought on the indicators here. Still below the 20 level on the VIX. Not expecting any surprises from the Fed tomorrow but you never know. We'll see if the gold shares drop and perhaps my order for the calls there will be filled. Or I may abandon that idea depending on the price action during the session. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Waiting on the Fed as the Dow slid 49 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move higher. Not a lot of price movement today and not a lot of volume. The S&P 500 is move oversold than overbought on a daily basis. There is still a down trend line in place as it has yet to make it back there. I still favor the SPY August puts if we make it back to that line but I could be wrong. Plenty of earnings due this week along with the jobs report on Friday. Wednesday has the Fed and the end of the month. There should be some opportunities but am I up to the task? Gold finished flat on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished little changed. The XAU was up a point, while GDX had a fractional gain. The gold shares finished up from the lows of the day. However the volume was very light. GDX is oversold on some of the daily indicators but not at extremes. I still am considering the August calls here if we get to the up trend line at around 35.5. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up just a bit today. The short term indicators here are still on the overbought side. Not sure now what's next here for the VIX. Asia was higher and Europe lower to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on tonights developments and see how the markets manage on Tuesday.

A bounce back today as the inflation data came in where expected and the Dow climbed 654 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. This should have the summation index moving back up. The Dow led things higher today. Some of the short term indicators for the S&P 500 are turning back up from oversold readings. Ideally we'd like to see the bounce continue to the down trend line that comes in at around 5500 or so. That would be the spot to try the SPY August puts unless we see an increase in the volume through that area. Things should remain interesting next week with the Fed in the middle of the week and then the jobs report on Friday. Earnings for better or for worse will be a factor as well. The under performance of the NASDAQ is a negative here in my view. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on things. Gold was up $32 on the futures. The US dollar finished flat again and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose almost 1/3. Volume was light. A nice rise in gold itself but the gold shares didn't do much. That is not a plus for the bulls here. GDX is close to short term oversold on some of the daily indicators. I'm going to try and wait see if it makes it to the up trend line at 35.5. However I'm not as sure about the GDX calls here as I was earlier. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here are rolling over and the daily candlestick chart looks like it wants to go lower. This would imply higher stock prices in the near future. Still above the 200 day moving average though. Quite a week it was and plenty to consider over the weekend. I'll be checking the charts as usual to try and decide which way to go. The Fed, economic data, earnings and the end of the month on tap on tap next week. Asia was mixed and Europe higher to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Trying to stabalize today and the market made a good attempt but then dropped again late in the day. The Dow managed a gain of 81 points on good volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. GDP came in above expectations. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted losses on the session. The S&P is now short term oversold on most of the daily indicators. The trend now is obviously lower and we'll wait for the S&P to get back to the near term down trend line or become short term overbought before attempting the August SPY puts. We'll get inflation data reported tomorrow and that should get things moving. Plus earnings as they come out. Would like to see a light volume rally back to the down trend line in a perfect world to try the puts. There is plenty of time left in the August option cycle. Gold was sold and the futures lost over fifty bucks. The US dollar finished flat once again and interest rates were mixed. The XAU dropped 3 2/3, while GDX shed a point. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is almost to the up trend line at 35.5 which is also where the 50 day moving average is. Another down day like today and I'll have to reconsider trying the GDX August calls here. The gold shares are holding up better than gold now. However the longer term charts for gold and silver don't look all that bullish at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that fits with the overall market. The short term indicators remain overbought. Getting closer to 20 but not there yet. How the market reacts to the inflation data will probably be the key to how things go tomorrow. I'm a believer now that rallies can be sold in the overall market. It has already been quite a week but we still have one more day. Asia and Europe were lower with the exception of the FTSE. We'll see how Friday goes.

Heading for the exits as stocks got slammed on some big tech earnings announcements. A gap lower at the open followed by selling for the rest of the day. The Dow fell 504 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 4 to 1 negative. The summation index is back to moving sideways. The NASDAQ led the way lower and lost more than 3 1/2%. The S&P 500 dropped over 125 points. It broke the longer term up trend line on the daily chart today and that should spell more trouble going forward. The S&P managed to hold at its 50 day moving average. It is not yet completely short term oversold yet. The weekly chart indicators have plenty of romm to head lower. There should be some support at 5200 but the next up trend line doesn't come in until 4600. I'm not saying that we are heading all the way down there tomorrow but those are some levels to watch. There is a down trend line now in place on the S&P daily chart. Any move back to that line will be an opportunity to try the SPY August puts. Gold lost $7 on the futures after being higher early on. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were mixed. The XAU drpped 1 1/3, while GDX shed almost 1/4. Volume was average. I did place an order for the GDX August calls overnight but it wasn't filled. Might try it again tomorrow or simply hold off. The short term indicators for GDX are now mid-range. The up trend line for GDX comes in at 35.5 and maybe I'll just wait to see if it gets back to that level before trying the calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX jumped today and that certainly fits with the carnage that we saw in stocks. The short term indicators are back to overbought. Still below the 20 level but it has made it back to 18. No extended summer doldrums in this July period as we've had good moves in both directions so far. GDP out tomorrow and inflation data to end the week on Friday. Plus whatever surprises we get from earnings. Hopefully we'll be able to take advantage of some of the opportunites. Europe and Asia were down and we'll probably see some more selling when they reopen. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Hanging around in the summer as the Dow was off 57 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is heading higher. There were slight losses for the major stock indices with the exception of the TRAN which had a bigger drop. The S&P 500 is still trying to decide what to do here. The short term indicators here are below mid-range but not yet oversold. Waiting on data out later this week. Patience for now. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar finished a bit higher and interest rates a bit lower. The XAU had a fractional gain and GDX ended the day flat. Volume was extremely light. Waiting for a signal here to try the GDX August calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX finished lower but did close still above its 200 day moving average. After last weeks volatility it suddenly feels like summer again. But things can change in a hurry in this game. I'll try and stay patient for the time being. Europe and Asia both finished mixed in last nights overseas trading. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Bouncing back today which wasn't unexpected as the Dow gained 127 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 positive. This should move the summation index back up. The NASDAQ was the leader by far today and that's a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P 500 are turning back up. Are we going back to new all time highs or is this the snap back to the recent broken up trend line? I'm inclined to think that it's the latter but we might take time to build some kind of top here this week. We've got the first look at 2nd quarter GDP along with inflation data out later in the week. Earnings will be coming out as well. I am looking at the SPY August puts. Gold was up a buck on the futures. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates ticked up. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are trying to turn back up. I'm still considering the GDX August calls however GDX isn't close to being oversold on the daily chart. There is plenty of time left in the August option cycle as we have just rolled into it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and its short term indicators have rolled over on the daily chart. Back within the Bollinger bands but still above the 200 day moving average here. I'm not sure what's next for the VIX. For now we'll just keep our eye on things as the week progresses and see if any perceived opportunities arise. Asia lower and Europe higher overnight. I'll keep watch on the evenings developments.

Another day another loss as the Dow fell 377 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. The Dow led the way down. There was an overnight computer glitch that affected trading at many online brokerages including mine which is also in the process of changing platforms. Now trading itself is hard enough without the sites that you are using to do it creating even more problems. But this is the reality of electronic trading. We'll see what happens on Monday. The S&P 500 had a pretty negative week. The short term indicators here are now mid-range or lower. The weekly indicators have turned down and have plenty of room to move lower. We'll look for a move back to the down trend line that was just broken on the daily chart. That might give us a chance at the SPY August puts. Gold got clocked as the futures fell $56. The US dollar was up along with interest rates. The XAU dropped 1 3/4, while GDX shed 1/2. Volume was average. The gold shares held up well despite the drop in gold and that is bullish. They also finished up from the lows on the day. Today could have been the completion of the move back to the longer term down trend line on the weekly chart. We'll know as time moves on. I still favor the GDX August calls at some point but will need a working platform to trade them. Mentally I'm feeling frustrated but the market doesn't care. The VIX was higher today and that fits a down market. The short term indicators are overbought. I'd expect the VIX to try and move lower next week. Quite an eventful expiration week in July with plenty of price movement. Throw in a computer mess and it makes you wonder why we try and trade at all. It's all part of the game though. We'll check the charts over the next couple of days and try to figure out a game plan going forward. Europe and Asia finished the week lower. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Stocks in general opened higher and closed lower for a one day downside reversal. The Dow got clobbered and lost 533 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is still moving higher. The Dow led the way lower today. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed up from the lows of the session thanks to some final hour buying. The S&P 500 has now broken its up trend line that began in the beginning of May. That is not a positive sign. The short term indicators there have turned down with room to go. We could see a snap back up to the line that was just broken but the tone of things has changed here. Volatility has picked up and there is a good chance that the party for stocks is over for now. That doesn't mean it will be a straight line down but caution for now is probably not a bad idea. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU fell 3 points while GDX was lower by more than 1/2. Volume was light. The short term indicators for GDX have turned down but it remains on the overbought side. I'm still considering the GDX August calls and almost placed an order for them today. However if the overall market does tank here it will probably take the gold shares with it. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continued higher and now is well above its 200 day moving average. Not yet close to the 20 level though. Short term overbought here now on the VIX so a pause in the volatility is not out of the question. The weekly indicators still have plenty of room to go higher. A busy summer expiration week so far with only one day left. Europe and Asia finished mixed overnight. We'll see how expiration Friday goes.

The overall market got whacked but the Dow managed to post a gain of 243 points on average volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is moving higher. The NASDAQ dropped over 500 points today. It has now broken below the up trend line on the daily chart that began in the beginning of May. That is not a good sign for the bulls. The S&P 500 lost almost 1.5%. The short term indicators here have rolled over. I thought that the market would simply drift higher into the option expiration on Friday but that was wrong. A mixed picture here with the Dow hitting a new all time closing high. However the NASDAQ is generally the leader of the pack and todays price action puts the rally at risk. It's possible that the summer rally is over. Gold was off $6 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. The XAU fell three points and GDX dropped around 7/8. Volume was average. If GDX makes it back to the longer term breakout point at 37 we'll consider the August calls there. Still short term overbought on GDX though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and closed above its 200 day moving average. Yesterday the daily chart had the look of wanting to go lower but that is no longer the case. Short term overbought now for the VIX but not at extremes. The tightening Bollinger bands forecast a big move coming and it is to the upside for the VIX. That does not bode well for stocks. We'll see how things go for the rest of the week. Asia and Europe were mixed. I'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Higher we go and it's not unexpected as the Dow soared 742 points on average volume. The advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led the way again which tells me we are probably closer to the end of the rally than the beginning. However we don't know how high it will go. The NASDAQ is lagging now and that isn't a good sign necessarily. But you can't argue with price and the other major stock indices are climbing. It has all the makings of a blow off top right now. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I continue to think that we'll move higher into the option expiration on Friday. Gold was up $45 on the futures to a new all time closing high. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU jumped 4 7/8, while GDX added 1 1/3. Volume was good. Still lamenting not owning the GDX July calls but that won't do me any good. GDX has broken the longer term down trend line resistance that was years in the making. It should be going higher for a while now. The next techncial expectation will be some sort of move back towards the line that was broken. That will be our next chance at the calls there. Not sure when and if that will happen. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was up slightly again today which makes no sense give the huge rise in stocks. Getting more short term overbought here. The daily chart is implying that the VIX will head lower which should be supportive of higher stock prices in the near future. Let the rally live on. No summer doldrums in July this year. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Back and forth today but a positive beginning to the week as the Dow gained 210 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is moving up. The Dow led the way higher and reached a closing record high. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but not at extremes. I still expect a drift higher into Fridays option expiration. Retail sales out tomorrow is the highlight of this weeks economic data. I don't think that I'll be placing any SPY trades this week but we'll see. Gold was up $6 on the futures after being higher early on. The US dollar was up slightly and interest rates finished mixed. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on average volume. Gold up and the gold shares down could be a problem for the gold bulls here. I expected more upside from gold today considering the weekends turmoil. I still like the GDX calls going forward but we'll watch and wait for now. GDX remains short term overbought. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today and that does not fit with an up market. It is now above its 50 day moving average. The last time the VIX was up along with the market a pretty negative session followed. We'll see how things go this time around. Europe was lower with Asia generally higher but only partially open to begin the trading week overseas. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

A bounce back today but we did finish well off of the highs for the session. The Dow gained 247 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving up. The inflation data came in where expected. The Dow reached a new intra-day high. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I'm not sure if this is the top for the rally that began at the end of April. I expect the market to drift higher into option expiration next week but I could be wrong. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was off $4 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were slightly down. The XAU and GDX had slight fractional gains on light volume. I'm still positive on the gold shares. If we see some selling next week I may try a short term trade for GDX or go out to the August option cycle there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and that fits an up market. The short term indicators here are starting to move lower with room to go. The VIX implies higher stock prices in the near term. We'll continue to go over all the charts this mid-summer weekend. Europe and Asia were higher to close out the week with the exception of Japan. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

The much anticipated inflation data came in lower than expected however after a brief rally the major indexes sold off. The Dow did manage a gain of 47 points on average volume. The advance/declines were better than 5 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving higher. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 dropped, with the NASDAQ off almost 2%. Big tech saw some selling. The short term indicators on the S&P have now turned down but are still short term overbought. I did not try the SPY puts today although the thought did cross my mind. We knew an opportunity was coming but could not get the timing down right. I don't think that this is the beginning of a straight drop lower but I could be wrong. I'm guessing things will hold together into option expiration next week. Things are mixed here with the Russell 2000 having a stellar day. The TRAN woke up as well. Gold continued to rise with the futures up forty bucks. Both the US dollar and interest rates dropped. The XAU was up 3 7/8, while GDX gained a point. Volume was good moving through the longer term down trend line on GDX and that is bullish. Although overbought I still like the GDX calls going forward. We will be looking to purchase them on any pullback. The technical picture for the gold shares is positive. Mentally I'm a bit frustrated having missed out on the GDX calls and not attempting the SPY puts this morning. But at least we know the overall ideas have merit. Timing, as always, is key. The VIX finished little changed on the day after reaching its upper Bollinger band. The short term techncial indicators here are now mid-range. Could go either way. More inflation data on tap for tomorrow. I'll most likely remain on the sidelines for now. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll close out the trading week on Friday.

To the upside as the Dow climbed 429 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. This should move the summation index higher. The McClellan oscillator signal for a big move was valid this time around. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 soared to new all time closing highs. The summer rally is here. I also think that we're in the midst of a blow off top that eventually will not end well. But we'll enjoy the ride for now. The S&P continues to be short term overbought. The short term sell signal that we got did not work just like last month. However this time around I did not act on it so we didn't have a losing trade here. Taking a step back right now with regards to the SPY. I don't know how long this blow off will last. Good news on inflation tomorrow could propel things even higher. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. Both the XAU and GDX followed stocks higher. The XAU gained 4 points and GDX was up almost a point. Volume was about average. GDX is short term overbought on some but not all of the indicators. GDX is up against the longer term trend line at 37. Getting through there on good volume is what I think is about to happen. We did miss this move higher in the gold shares though. I'm not sure that we'll get another chance for the calls here in the July cycle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today and that does not make sense with the across the board move higher for stocks today. Not sure what it means going forward. The VIX does remain below its 50 day moving average. Europe was up and Asia generally lower with the exception of Japan. All eyes on the inflation data out tomorrow morning.

Another day of hanging around as the Dow dropped 52 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is trying to move higher but is in a rangebound state. Yet again new all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 but just barely. The S&P remains short term overbought. We did get a signal last night from the McClellan oscillator for a big move within the next two sessions. We'll see if that happens tomorrow. I'd like to try the SPY puts again and may just do it tomorrow if we see some strength. Inflation data Thursday and Friday. We still have the short term sell signal from one of our indicators. Gold was up $7 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates were up a touch. The XAU and GDX finished little changed on the day. Volume was extremely light. I did place an order for the GDX July calls but it wasn't filled. Might try again tomorrow but if the overall market does drop here it should take the gold shares with it. We are kind of in a conflicting zone at the moment when it comes to the next trade. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today. The Bollinger bands here continue to converge so we are going to get something happening here. The question is when? Summer trading can get thin but there sre still opportunities to be had. Never easy in this game. Asia up and Europe down overnight. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Hanging around today as the Dow lost 31 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is now moving up. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. I did place an order for the SPY July puts today but it wasn't filled. We are getting a short term sell signal from one of our indicators. I might try this idea again tomorrow if we see some strength in the morning. I'm not completely sold on this since when we tried it last month it didn't work. However the market will not stay overbought forever. Inflation data out on Thursday and Friday. Fed chairman Powell will speak tomorrow and Wednesday. So there will be excuses for the markets to move. Gold dropped over thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar and interest rates finished a little higher. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. They finished well off of their lows for the session. Despite the drop in gold the gold shares fared well. That is bullish. I'm still considering the GDX July calls but GDX is short term overbought. However in rallies it can stay that way. So we have a couple of conflicting trade ideas with the GDX calls and the SPY puts. I'll ponder the possibilities overnight. Mentally I'm feeling a bit distracted. The VIX was lower today and remains below its 50 day moving average. Not sure what to expect here next. Europe and Asia were lower to begin the week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The employment data came in where expected and the rally continues. The Dow was up 67 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is on a sideways track. New all time closing highs for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 with the NASDAQ leading the way higher. The S&P remains short term overbought. Just how high are we going to go here? Weak breadth hasn't stopped things. July has gotten off to a fine start for the bulls. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was up $27 on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up 3 1/2 and GDX rose a buck. Volume was average. GDX is getting close to the longer term multi-year down trend line at 37-38. If it can get through there on good volume it should travel up to the 40 level. GDX is getting to short term overbought but not all the way there yet. I've missed the best entry point for the GDX July calls but there is a chance that they may still work. It appears now that any weakness here can be bought. We will be keeping an eye on things. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which certainly doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators have turned up. Not sure what's going on here. It was a good holiday week for stocks but the volume wasn't all that strong. We can probably chalk that up to many players out on vacation. It will be something to keep an eye on next week. Still two weeks left in the July option cycle so there is plenty of time for a trade. I'll go over the charts this weekend to hopefully come up with some ideas. Right now it appears the GDX calls on weakness might be the plan. But we'll see. I'm not exactly sold on the stock market rally but you cannot argue with price. It is very narrow and concentrated though. Asia and Europe were mostly lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It was a light volume levitation for the the overall market but the Dow lost 23 points. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving sideways. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time highs again. The S&P remains short term overbought. I suppose we'll know on Friday if this is the beginning of a new next leg up or not. The jobs report will probably determine that. Many players will be out for a long weekend. Gold woke up today as the futures jumped over thirty bucks. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU climbed 5 points, while GDX rose 1 3/8. Volume was light but not bad for half a day. Does the gold market know something about the employment report that we don't? Not yet short term overbought for GDX but Friday will tell the story here as well. It could be that I've missed the next move up for GDX but we'll see. GDX did break above the short term down trend line and 50 day moving average today. Gold has been traveling sideways for three months so perhaps it's time for it to break out. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was barely up today but that still doesn't fit with an overall positive day for stocks. Short term oversold here but not extremely so. Not sure what's next on the VIX. Tomorrow the US markets are closed and then it will be Friday morning for the job numbers. Europe and Asia were higher with the exception of China. Enjoy the holiday.

A pre-holiday rally as the Dow gained 162 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trying to trend sideways. The NASDAQ was the leader once again and that is a plus for the bulls. A half day of trading tomorrow and not Friday as I stated yesterday. Should be quiet and to the upside. New all time closing highs for both the NASDAQ and S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. Today it bounced off of an up trend line that began back in the beginning of May. Perhaps this is the beginning of the famed summer rally. Gold finished flat. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose 1/8. Volume remains light. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and closed at the 12 level. Still short term oversold here. Just waiting on Fridays employment report at this juncture. Not sure how it will be treated with so many players at the beach. However this is how things go in the summer. Asia was generally higher and Europe down overnight. Should be a lightly traded non-event for the US markets tomorrow.

To the upside to begin the month of July as the Dow gained 50 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The summation index is still trying to move sideways. The NASDAQ led the way higher. July is usually a good month for stocks. We'll see how it goes this year. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought but not extremely so. A short holiday week with Thursday closed and only a half day trading on Friday. The jobs report is due on Friday but many traders will be out. So it isn't your normal market week. I'll probably just stay on the sidelines unless we get some type of decent signal. Summertime and the trading is thin. Gold was up a buck. The US dollar finished little changed and interest rates were higher. The XAU lost 1 1/8, while GDX was flat. Volume was very light as there appears to be no interest one way or the other for the gold shares. The short term technical indicators for GDX remain mid-range. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits with a positive day for stocks. Not sure where it's headed next but it is more oversold than overbought on a daily basis. Patience for now when it comes to the next trade. Asia and Europe were higher to begin the week. We'll keep an eye on any overnight developments.

It was a one day downside reversal as stocks opened higher an closed lower to end the month of June. The Dow fell 45 points on end of the quarter heavy volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is beginning to move sideways. The inflation data came in where expected and the market opened higher. After the first half hour sellers took over and things went down from there. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished lower with the NASDAQ leading the way. The short term indicators on the S&P have turned lower. The daily candlestick charts for the NASDAQ and S&P now look like they want to go lower. I'd expect some beginning of the month money flowing into stocks on Monday but I could be wrong. No SPY trades in mind for now. Gold and the US dollar finished flat on the session. Interest rates were up especially on the long end. The XAU and GDX had fractional losses on light volume. The short term indicators here are now at mid-range so GDX could go either way from here. I still am favoring the calls for GDX but we'll take another look over the weekend. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which fits with a lower market. The Bollinger bands have gotten tight in a hurry here. Usually that implies some type of big move coming for the underlying symbol. I would guess that would mean a higher VIX going forward since it touched the lower Bollinger band today. That would be a negative for stcoks but it hasn't happened yet. Something to keep an eye on though. I'll go over the charts as usual this weekend before a holiday shortened week. It will probably lead to light volume next week and perhaps not as much trading activity as usual. It makes it that much tougher for the option trading but sitting on the sidelines is a type of position as well. Plenty to ponder over the next couple of days. Asia was mostly higher and Europe mostly lower to finish the month. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

More of the same as the Dow rose 36 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is trying to form a sideways channel. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had slight gains. Remaining short term overbought on the S&P. The inflation data tomorrow should be a catalyst in one direction or another. We've also got possible end of the month, quarter and half year gyrations on tap. Toss in a holiday week coming up and you have the potential for a volatile session. Traders may get all their work done before taking next week off. The inflation data is expected to show improvement so we'll see. No SPY trades in mind at the moment. Gold was up $23 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit lower along with interest rates. The XAU was up a point and GDX rose 3/8. Volume was pretty light. The short term indicators on GDX have turned back up but it remains below the 50 day moving average. GDX is also still under the short term down trend line on the daily chart that began in mid-May. Tomorrow will probably get gold moving as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX continues to drop and is heading to the 12 level. The short term indicators are moving down and are not yet short term oversold. The VIX picture still looks positive in the near term for stocks. That could all change on tomorrows data but I'm not sure that it will. Asia and Europe were generally lower overnight. We'll see how the market reacts to the inflation data and closes out the trading week and month tomorrow.

Drifting would be the best way to describe the market action as the Dow was up 15 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is still in a downward trend. The NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 closed higher with the NASDAQ leading the way. The S&P remains short term overbought. We are in summer mode with not a lot of volatility for now. Perhaps that will change with Fridays inflation report and the end of the month. Gold dropped another twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX finished practically unchanged though on light volume. Not sure what is going on there. Maybe the gold shares know something that we don't. However I'm remaining on the sidelines here for now. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was down today and the short term indicators are moving lower. This implies more gains for stocks in the near term. We'll see. Asia up and Europe down overnight. Tomorrow could be a waiting game ahead of Friday. I'll keep an eye on tonights developments.

Still a mixed market as the Dow fell 299 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is back to trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted gains on the session. The NASDAQ led the way up today and that is a positive. However we are not seeing the indices working in unison one way or the other. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. I'm not sure which way things will go from here. I am however more inclined to be bearish moving along from here as the S&P will not remain overbought forever. Gold lost a dozen on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates remain flat. The XAU was of 1 1/2, while GDX shed 3/8. Volume was very light. The short term indicators for GDX have turned lower. Keeping an eye on things here but the light volume shows little interest and that would make trading the options here that much harder. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today which fits the overall market. Mid-range on the short term signs here. Still below the 50 day moving average for the VIX. Perhaps the market is simply waiting for the inflation report on Friday. Or we are in summer mode trading with less players and less volume. I will not try and force things here. There is plenty of time left in the July option cycle. Asia was up with the exception of China. European stocks were lower. We'll see what the middle of the week has to offer.

Trying to figure out which way to go here as the Dow gained 260 points on light volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. This should have the summation index beginning to move sideways. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were lower on the day with the NASDAQ well in the lead. That is not a plus. The short term indicators for the S&P are turning over but remain well into overbought territory. Overdue for some type of sustained decline but I'm not sure when it's coming. Inflation data and end of the month on Friday. A shortened holiday week after that so we are already into summer trading mode. Makes it tough on the option trades but we'll keep moving on. Gold was up $13 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates finished flat. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The short term indicators for GDX are mid-range and it remains below the short term down trend line at 35. Also just below the 50 day moving average. There's a potential head and shoulders top being formed on the daily chart here and we'll be keeping an eye on that. If that pattern takes hold the GDX calls are off the table. Hasn't happened yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up today which fits the overall market but not the Dow. The short term indicators on the VIX are moving higher and imply more selling for stocks in the near term. We'll see. Europe was higher and Asia mixed to begin the trading week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight headlines.

A fairly quiet option expiration Friday as the Dow was up 15 points on expiration heavy volume. The advance/declines were slightly positive. The summation index is still heading lower. We did get a signal last night on the McClellan oscillator for a big move with two days. We'll see if that pans out on Monday. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 posted samll losses. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought as it has been for most of the month so far. I'm still looking for some type of decline here soon. The upside blow off that I thought might happen has not occurred. Patience for now as we roll into the July option cycle. Gold dropped $34 on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates finished flat. The XAU lost 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/2. Volume was a bit above average. Considering the drop in gold itself the gold shares held up pretty well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was just a bit lower today. The short term indicators here are now at mid-range. Seems like the VIX could go either way from here. It was tough week for me with two losing trades in two days. Perhaps I'll simply stay away from the short term ideas as they usually don't work. But as I said before we deal in probabilities so nothing is guaranteed. You also have to keep moving along in this game because the markets just keep on going. My thinking is that the next trade will be the GDX calls at some point but we'll see. I'll be checking the charts this weekend as usual. Europe and Asia were lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

A mixed bag as trading resumes in the US as the Dow gained 300 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is still trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted losses on the session. Some type of decline is very overdue for these indices. I'll do my best to forget that the selling today comes after I sold my SPY put trades for losses. One day doesn't make a trend as the SPY remains short term overbought. Option expiration tomorrow and I'll let that pass as we roll into the July option cycle. I'm still on the side of the SPY puts but the premiums for July will be high. Gold was up $26 on the futures. The US dollar was up and interest rates were slightly higher. The XAU gained 3 1/2, while GDX added 7/8. Volume was average. The short term indicators for GDX have turned up and GDX finished at its 50 day moving average. It's entirely possible that I've missed the chance at the GDX July or August calls but we'll have to see where things go from here. There is a short term down trend line for GDX that comes in at the 35 level. We're almost there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit distracted as outside issues are fogging up the focus that is necessary. There is also preparing to deal with the shutdown of the trading platform that I use and having to move to a new one. The VIX was up today and that fits with an overall lower market. The short term indicators have turned up with room to go which would imply more selling in the near term. Perhaps expiration Friday will provide some fireworks. Asia was mixed and Europe higher overnight. We'll keep and eye on tonights developments.

Sideways for todays session as the Dow gained 56 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still heading down. New all time closing highs once again for both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The S&P remains short term overbought. Overdue for some type of decline but perhaps the positive expiration bias is in effect. I got stopped out of my SPY June put trade for a 40% loss. Sideways price action only erodes the option premiums especially with only two days to go in an option cycle. I took my chances here and lost. Also threw good money after bad when the first trade yesterday didn't work. We deal with probabilities in this game and this time they just didn't work. I'll regroup and look for the next idea but I am on a losing streak. Nobody enjoys that. Gold was up $15 on the futures today. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates were lower. The XAU was up 1 3/4, while GDX gained 1/2. Volume was pretty light again. Mentally I'm a bit distracted as there was a water leak on my property today that had to be dealt with. The market doesn't care. The VIX was lower today and that fits a positive overall market. The short term indicators are oversold but not extremely so. Tomorrow is a holiday in the US. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll see how it goes on Thursday.

A Monday rally to begin options expiration week as the Dow was up 188 points on light volume. The advance/declines were positive. The summation index is still trending lower. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed at new all time highs. Short term overbought and staying that way for the S&P along with the NASDAQ. I tried the SPY June puts this morning. I did believe in this idea for the short term but after a 50% loss I sold out. The market simply continued higher so I had to sell before taking even a bigger loss. I still wanted to try them again and I purchased some closer to money later on in the session. We had some selling near the close and the second purchase is showing a slight gain. I'm really not that good at the short term trades but I still try them sometimes. We'll see how this trade pans out as it was a busier day than usual for me. Gold was off $14 on the futures. The US dollar was lower and interest rates were higher. The XAU fell a point and GDX was off fractionally. Volume was pretty light for the gold shares. I'm still looking at the July or August calls on GDX. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today which doesn't fit with and up market. Not sure what's next for the VIX. We've got retail sales out tomorrow followed by a middle of the week holiday on Wednesday. Needless to say, decisions on this SPY put trade will have to be made Tuesday. There's a chance we could be in the beginning of a blow off top as well. But we'll see how things go tomorrow. Asia was lower and Europe slightly higher to begin the week overseas. We'll keep an eye on tonights headlines.

Stuck in a rut as the Dow fell 58 points on light volume. The advance/declines were around 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower. Once again the overall market was up with the Dow down. The NASDAQ posted a new all time high. The S&P had a small loss and remains stuck in a sideways channel near term. With the summation index going down the market is holding up rather well and I don't know the implications of that. I did not get the SPY June puts today as we had a gap lower on the open. I'm still in favor of this idea on strength Monday but I'll reconsider it over the weekend. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought. Gold was up thirty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates just a bit lower. Both the XAU and GDX had fractional gains on light volume. The gold shares did not follow gold itself that well today and that's a negative. GDX remains short term oversold. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today. The short term indicators have turned back up and it remains oversold. I don't have a good idea of what's next for the VIX. We'll have the weekend to go over the charts but with only four days left in the June option cycle taking on a trade here may not be worth the risk. The breadth has been pretty negative lately but we haven't seen a sell off. I'm not ruling out the possibility of some kind of spike higher before option expiration but that's just a guess right now. The technical work points to some kind of selling in the near term but we haven't seen a decent down day despite the lower summation index. The game is never easy. Asia remains mixed and Europe was lower to close out the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

Another day of hanging around as the Dow fell 65 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues in a downward trend. The inflation data today was a bit less than expected. A mixed day to be sure as both the S&P 500 along with the NASDAQ showed gains. New all time closing highs for these indexes yet again. How long can this continue? Usually longer than you think. I am looking at the SPY June puts though and perhaps will buy some on strength tomorrow. The S&P remains short term overbought. If we get a negative RSI divergence on the hourly chart tomorrow I may try the puts as the next trade. Short term in nature would be the plan. Hold it over the weekend and sell them early next week. That's the idea at the moment. Gold dropped $35 on the futures today. The US dollar was higher and interest rates were lower. The XAU fell 3 1/2 and GDX lost 7/8. Volume was average. GDX remains short term oversold and below its 50 day moving average. I'm still looking at the 32-31 level on GDX before trying the July or August calls there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was lower today and is now below 12. Some but not all of the short term indicators here are oversold. I'm still not sure what's next for the VIX. I'll have to decide overnight if trying the SPY puts here is worth the risk. Only five days left in the June option cycle as there is a holiday in the middle of next week. Asia was mixed and Europe lower overnight. We'll close out the trading week tomorrow.

Inflation data came in a bit less than expected and the market took off. However the final hour saw some selling and the Dow finished with a loss of 35 points on about average volume. The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is still trending lower but might be in the process of turning sideways. The Fed meeting came and went as expected with no surprises. The overall market remains much stronger than the Dow with both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 setting new record highs again. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P has jumped above its upper Bollinger band. It remains short term overbought. I'm still considering the SPY June puts but it may be too late. There is also the possibility that we are going to see a speculative upside blow off here and you do not want to own puts if that's the case. Gold was up ten bucks on the futures after being higher earlier on. The US dollar dropped along with interest rates. The XAU gained almost a point, while GDX was up 1/4. Volume was slightly above average. The gold shares also finished off of the highs on the day. GDX remains short term oversold. I am looking at the July and August calls there. Mentally I'm trying to figure out whether to make a trade here with the SPY or not. The VIX was lower today and that fits the overall market advance that we saw. There is romm for the short term indicators to go lower. Down to the 12 level here and that's about as low as it has been lately. Not sure where it is going next. Producer prices out tomorrow and that may move things one way or the other. I'll consider whether to try the SPY puts tomorrow overnight. Asia was mixed and Europe higher last night. I'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

Once again stocks sold off early and came back for the rest of the day for upside reversals. The Dow was the laggard though as it dropped 120 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index continues lower. Both the NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time highs again. The NASDAQ has been the leader and that is a plus. The market just feels like it wants to go higher here. The S&P 500 is still short term overbought. Yes I'm thinking about the SPY June puts if we move up early tomorrow but it isn't a completely solid technical idea. I may just sit things out but we'll see. Inflation plus the Fed could make for a volatile session. Gold was up five bucks on the futres. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates dipped. The XAU lost 1 1/2, while GDX shed 1/4. Volume was pretty light. I did consider the GDX June calls again today in case the inflation data comes in weak. GDX is also short term oversold. GDX also made it down to the buy zone on one of our timing models. But I stayed out considering I just had a losing trade here. Plus the medium term picture for the gold shares looks like it still has work to do to the downside according to the indicators there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up again today which doesn't fit with an overall positive day for stocks. The short term indicators are beginning to drift sideways. Not getting any good ideas on which way to go right now from the VIX. Light volume today as it was a waiting day for the most part. Wednesday should be a different story. Europe and Asia were lower overnight. We'll see what tomorrrow brings.

It was a one day reversal to the upside as stocks opened lower and closed higher. The Dow rose 69 points on light volume. The advance/declines were even. The summation index is trending lower. A quiet day to begin the week of trading. We've got inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday. We've got the Fed announcement and press conference on Wednesday. So there will be plenty of excuses for markets to move. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 set new all time closing highs. Both remain short term overbought. It seems like the market just wants to go higher here. I am considering the SPY June puts though if we continue to see strength into the Fed announcement. Gold was up a couple bucks on the futures. The US dollar was higher and interest rates ticked up. The XAU bounced back by two points and GDX was up 1/2. Volume was light. GDX remains short term oversold and I could make a case for the calls here again. However I'll remain on the sidelines here for now but I am looking out to the July and August opton cycles on the GDX calls. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was higher today which doesn't fit with an up market. The short term indicators here are not oversold but are starting to turn back up. This would not bode well for the bulls if it continues. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to start the trading week overseas. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

The jobs report came in hotter than expected but stocks seemed to take it in stride as the Dow slipped 87 points on light volume. The advance/declines were shy of 3 to 1 negative. The summation index is moving lower again. Back and forth would be the best way to describe todays session as the market was both positive and negative throughout the day. The S&P 500 remains short term overbought and stuck at the upper Bollinger band. My thinking is that the next trade here would be the SPY June puts but we'll have to go over things this weekend to be sure. Gold got absolutely clobbered today. The futures here lost $82. The US dollar soared along with interest rates. The gold shares got pummeled. The XAU lost 9 1/8, while GDX fell almost 2 1/2. Volume was very heavy to the downside. My GDX June calls got killed overnight. What was a decent gain turned into an average loss. This is sometimes the story when it comes to trading options. But it works both ways. I sold my position for a 55% loss. I'll try and put it behind me. The short term indicators for GDX turned back down and GDX closed below its 50 day moving average. It looks to me like support comes in at the 32-31 level. Perhaps I'll consider the calls here again if we make it down there. Mentally I'm feeling a bit disappointed after the loss. I would not have done anything differently though except perhaps sold the calls earlier in todays session. It still would have produced a loss. The GDX daily chart was looking bullish yesterday but not after today. Of course I could not have predicted an over eighty dollar loss in gold on the jobs number. Markets go where they want. The VIX was lower today which doesn't fit a slightly down market. Not yet completely short term oversold here yet. I'll go over all the charts this weekend because with two weeks left in the June option cycle there is plenty of time to find another trade. Leaning towards the SPY June puts but it may already be too late for them. Asia was mixed and Europe lower to end the week. It's Friday afternoon and time for a break.

It did end up as a day of hanging around as the Dow was up 79 points on light volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is trending sideways to slightly lower. Both the NASDAQ along with the S&P 500 finished with very small losses. So it is still a mixed picture for stocks. Basically sideways trading on the day. The S&P 500 is short term overbought and up against the upper Bollinger band. That probably means that it will be tough to go very much higher from here in the near term. So perhaps the reaction to tomorrows jobs report won't be a positive one. But that's just a guess as the market goes where it wants. Gold was up $15 on the futures. The US dollar was slightly lower and interest rates were flat. The gold shares came to life as the XAU gained 4 1/2, while GDX climbed almost 1 1/4. Volume was good to the upside which is a positive. The short term indicators for GDX are now pointing up with room to go. My GDX June call trade that I wasn't so sure of at the entry is now showing a decent gain. However there are still a couple of weeks left in the June option cycle so the management of the trade from here is what will determine the ultimate outcome. For now the 50 day moving average for GDX has proven to be support. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was slightly lower today. Not yet short term oversold here on the indicators. Seems like we've been waiting all week for tomorrows employment report. It should provide at least the early market direction. I certainly don't know what to expect the reaction to be but stocks have been acting well lately. Europe and Asia were higher overnight. We'll close out the week tomorrow.

Today we saw a broad based rally but the Dow only managed a gain of 96 points on light volume. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The summation index is moving sideways. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ posted new all time closing highs. The NASDAQ was up 2%. That is a plus for the bulls. There is no overhead resistance. The S&P is getting to short term overbought. The lack of volume is a concern but you cannot argue with price. Gold was up over $20 on the futures. The US dollar was a bit higher and interest rates continued to fall. The XAU rose 2 1/8, while GDX almost gained 2/3. Volume was light. The 50 day moving average has held for now on GDX. Light volume here is a concern as well. GDX is short term oversold on some of its indicators. My GDX June calls are showing a small profit. Would have liked to see GDX moving up better than it did considering the good day that gold itself had. Tomorrow is probably a waiting game ahead of the employment report. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired. The VIX was lower which fits an up market. The short term indicators are still around mid-range. Asia was generally lower and Europe higher in last nights trade. I'll keep watch on tonights headlines.

Just seems like we're marking time here as the Dow added 140 points on light volume. The advance/declines were negative. The summation index is tracking sideways. Not much to say about todays price action or lack there of. Slight gains for both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The short term indicators are a little above mid-range for the S&P. Not exactly sure what to expect next here but are we already just waiting for Friday? The Bollinger bands are beginning to contract on the S&P 500 so maybe we'll see some movement by this index in the near future. Gold lost a little more than it gained yesterday as the futures dropped $22. The US dollar finished flat and interest rates continued to fall. The gold shares got spanked as the XAU fell 6 3/8, while GDX lost 1 1/3. Volume was good to the downside. GDX is now back at its 50 day moving average. The short term indicators here are oversold but not extremely so. My open order for the GDX June calls was filled. The calls closed about where I bought them. Now I'm not so sure that I want them as the volume today picking up on the downside is not a good sign. June also tends to be a weak seasonal period for gold at times. We'll see if the 50 day moving average holds it here. Plenty of time for the trade to work but the management of it from here will be the key. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX was up slightly today. The short term indicators are mid-range. The daily candlestick chart here looks like it wants to go lower which be be a plus for stocks. Still above the mid-Bollinger band though. So I'm in the next trade and it doesn't exactly have the feel of the right idea. I suppose we'll at least give it until the jobs report on Friday. Asia was mixed and Europe lower in last evenings trade. We'll keep an eye on the overnight developments.

In a word mixed is way to describe the current market situation as the Dow fell 115 points on average volume. The advance/declines were slightly negative. The summation index is beginning to stall. There was a trading glitch for some stocks during the day but it didn't last. The NASDAQ posted a gain on the session. The S&P 500 had a slight gain as well. The short term indicators here are now mid-range. Some economic data due out this week highlighted by the jobs report on Friday. But it's only Monday. Earnings season is winding down. We are still waiting on a decent signal to trigger the next trade for the SPY. Plenty of time left in the June option cycle so we won't try and push things. Gold was up twenty bucks on the futures. The US dollar was lower along with interest rates. The XAU and GDX finished mixed with fractional moves. Volume was light. Gold up and the gold shares not going along is not bullish. I do still have my open order for the GDX June calls out there though. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The VIX had a wide range today and finished slightly higher. The short term indicators here are around mid-range as well. So it seems we are in a period of indecision for the markets as to where we are going next. Or perhaps a sideways pattern is in the process of being developed. We'll know more as time rolls on. I wouldn't rule out new all time highs for some of the stock indices going forward either. But we'll see. Asia and Europe were higher for the most part to start the week. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.